Meet actress Dilynn Harvey:
To start, please introduce yourself:
Hello, my name is Dilynn Harvey and I’ve had the honor of being a part of the horror genre since my first movie “Sleepless Nights” working with Amanda Payton, Todd Sheets, and Antwoine Steele. Thanks to them I have been in involved in the horror community for over 10 years now and I absolutely love it!
What is horror to you, what makes a work of art one in the horror genre?
The imagination from everyone is pretty exciting. Just when I think everything has been done, someone comes out with something new and fresh. But on that note I also love watching new takes on old ideas, the what ifs, for example the sharknado series, Todd sheets swapped out sharks and threw in Clowns and Clownado was born. Most of all it gives me a break from reality. I love getting involved in a movie whether I’m watching from home to getting down and dirty soaked in blood and screaming at the top of my lungs on set. Again it all comes down to a nice break from reality.
What made you want to work in horror?
I went in not knowing much about horror like I thought I did, my first favorite horror movies are, A Nightmare on Elm Street, House, Ghoulies, and of course Elvira, I love the old campy movies. But, the more I got physically involved, the more I learned about it. I was introduced into a lot more than I realized was out there and I just got hooked on it, I just love it even more, it’s just so much fun wearing costumes, blood, fx making up, I like I did for Bonehill Road and Dreaming Purple Neon. I love learning new ways of portraying a new character. Getting to know the fans out there is a huge highlight, I love hearing from them. I swear there will be times when my imposter syndrome would kick in with some serious self doubt, and out the blue some one will message me telling me how they had just watched a particular movie and tell me how much they loved it. It is a nice boost of confidence, and brings a huge smile in my heart. I can’t thank the fans enough for their support, I love all of them!
Where do you get your inspiration?
My husband and our children. I want my kids to know that no matter how old you are or at any point in your life that you decide you want to do something, you can do it. I started acting and modeling late in life. My first time acting & modeling was in my late 30’s. I have always wanted to be an actress since I was a kid. For the longest time I had so much self doubt and didn’t think I belonged in the movies or even being a model for that fact. My husband, has always told me that I should go for it and that he would support me in anything I decided to do. I want my kids to know you are never to old to go after something you really want, it doesn’t matter how big or how small it is, just go for your dreams and have fun doing it. You don’t have to be the best, but you can just live your life the way you want. I still work a full time job, but acting is my passion, life is to short to not enjoy some part of your life.
What would you like your legacy to be in the genre (or elsewhere)?
That I’m easy to work with and that my passion for acting is felt on set and on screen, as well as on the stage.
What is Women in Horror Month to you and why is it still important this many years later?
To me it’s a chance to showcase how women can be a force of nature. I love seeing so many women creating new ideas of their own. It also gives you a chance to be introduced to women you have not heard of yet, it’s a pretty big world out there and there a ton of talented women who are on the rise!!
Who are some of the Women in Horror who you look up to and who do you want to bring attention to in your field or others?
My gosh, there’s a lot. For starters, Linnea Quigley, I got to work with her on Bonehill Road and Clownado, she is just an amazing woman. She is so nice, and sweet and I love her passion she has for animals. I loved her characters in The Return of the Living Dead and Night of the Demons. Julie Anne Prescott is another woman in the horror genre that is a force of nature, she is amazing. She has been in so many movies including some Troma movies. She is rising as a writer and director. I first worked with her on Backwoods bubba, directed by Brad Thomasson, as a co-star, we had an instant friendship on that set, she is just so sweet and warm hearted. She brought me on to Cheerleader Camp Elimination, that she wrote and directed, and I have to say WOW, she blew me away with how incredibly talented and professional she is on and off set. She made me feel so welcomed and loved!! I definitely want to give a shout out to Amanda Payton, she is the first female director that I auditioned for, she is where I got my first break into the horror genre, she cast me in her short called The Crawler that she wrote and directed, for the anthology Sleepless Nights. She was so much fun to work with and she knew I was nervous, but she made sure I was comfortable on set. She is also a producer and works on FX makeup. I know I’m repeating my self when I say she was also so nice and sweet, but so far I haven’t met a female in the horror genre that hasn’t been nice to me, at least to my face, knock on wood. Other women I look up to are Lisa Wilcox, Sigourney Weaver, Pam Grier, Anna Faris, Halle Barry, Amanda Tapping, Jessica Lange, Cate Blanchett, Scarlett Johansson, Dee Wallace, and so many more, I could go and on!
What are you currently working on that you can tell us about?
We just announced our latest movie called Wolf Moon Rising, written and directed by Todd Sheets. We worked on this all last summer and it will be premiering in May at the Screenland Armour theater in KCMO. It’s our newest werewolf movie that takes place in space!! Another movie I worked last spring is called Cheerleader Camp Elimination, written and directed by Julie Anne Prescott, that one is still in post production, I’m super excited to see how these movies come out! In between movies I do theater shows for the Act theatre company here in Topeka ,KS. I’m currently working on a melodrama called ‘What a Racket or Singin’ on the Plain’ written and directed by Patricia Middleton. Even though it’s not horror, doing theatre shows helps me learn new ways of developing charcter personalities and helps keep me focused on having fun acting when I’m in between movies. I absolutely love working with her.
Where can readers keep up with you?
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/1E3RcHycuo/
Instagram fawn999
There are not too many Dilynn Fawn Harveys out there, I’m really easy to find on social media.
